You can read previous entry from this series, one detailing Boyz, here. Here is first installment of this series, the one describing Nobz. Text itself comes from the Waaagh Orks, one of the supplements for Rogue Trader game.

MADBOYZ

Madboyz are deranged and eccentric Orks. All Orks are fierce, aggressive fighters who like nothing better than a good fight, but Madboyz are the most battle-crazed of them all. Madboyz are so far gone that they're even recognized as insane by the rest of the Orks. Although referred to collectively as Madboyz by the other Orks, Madboyz are actually subject to several different manias that characterize their behavior. Some of the more common manias found among Madboyz are described below.

Frantiks: Frantiks are subject to uncontrollable excitement. Almost anything can set them off and it will be a long time before they calm down. A heated argument over possession of a Gretchin servant, the excitement of a squig-eating contest or a ride on the latest Mekboy contraption can send a Frantik into hysterical frenzy. Often a Frantik will sense the excitement and delight of other Orks and join in the fun without knowing what they are laughing and joking about. He will still be hopping up and down in sheer joy long after they have gone.

Paranoids: These Orks are under the constant impression that something or someone is out to get them. This can result in excessive animosity towards alien races, and even to other clans and castes. It may take the form of an instantaneous hatred to a particular Ork, Gretchin or Snotling or something equally irrational. Whatever the object of their loathing, whenever they come into contact with it, Paranoids either run away and hide or attack it on sight, oblivious to anything else occurring around them.

Phobiaks: These Orks exhibit an irrational terror of something outwardly harmless. These fears can vary from terror at the sight of a creepy-crawly squig, to mild apprehension at the presence of a Weirdboy. Fears induced by small, harmless creatures (such as flying insects and inoffensive small mammals) are common among Phobiaks. If the Phobiaks encounter the object of their fear, they are immediately thrown into panic and confusion.

Maniks: Maniks suffer from irrational obsessions. Whatever the object of the unfortunate Ork's obsession, it will completely absorb his mind until something else attracts his attention. This can take the form of an irrational fear or hatred. Perhaps the Manik will take an instant dislike to a particular color and react violently against anyone wearing it. On another occasion the poor deranged Manik might be seen recoiling in horror from an innocent-looking squig that any sane Ork would have immediately picked up and gobbled.

The switch from one obsession to another can occur suddenly and without warning. A Manik might be seen stealthily creeping up on a Gretchin from behind, raise a lump of wood to clobber the hapless creature, then inexplicably drop the club and pat the Gretchin affectionately on the head, before loping off to chase a fly or peer at a toadstool.

Skitzos: These Orks cannot distinguish between reality and illusion. Consequently, Skitzos live in a strange world of delusion and fantasy. One moment, they appear to be phlegmatic and nonchalant (just like the rest of the Boyz); then their mood suddenly changes to one of extreme hyperactivity for no apparent reason.

Occasionally one might find a Skitzo hiding in a growth of fungus beside a drop, frolicking with the Snotlings under the impression that he's one too. It is very unfortunate for these poor Snotlings when the Skitzo suddenly thinks he's a savage growler squig, as he'll then chase them out of the fungus grove and scurry off to bite the kneecap of the nearest Ork.

Moroniks: These Orks are recognized by their wide, staring eyes and vacant expression. Moroniks seem to be in a permanent state of bewilderment. They can only obey simple instructions, which they are quite likely to forget immediately they are given them. Once they've forgotten what they're supposed to be doing, they can wander about aimlessly for hours.

Melankoliks: These Madboyz suffer from deep melancholia, in which they pine for the battles of the past, and the company of lost comrades who fell in these ancient conflicts. Melankoliks find inspiration in the old battle legends, and will often sit together around the campfire recalling past glories. Often, Melankoliks weep inexplicably, or are unaccountably inspired to rage or enthusiasm. This is usually because their imaginations are far away, reliving some heroic action of the past.

Deliriaks: These Madboyz seem to be continually, deliriously happy. They laugh long and loudly and their insane cackling wafts across the encampment to unnerve even the most stolid of Orks or foes. Absolutely nothing can wipe the smile off their faces. They laugh in the face of danger, and grin delightedly after suffering terrible injuries like having their legs blown off. Painboyz find this attitude most perplexing. The simple joys of battle, with its noises, flashes, acrid stench and general confusion cause the Deliriak no end of delight. Deliriaks are always willing to try their luck in a squig-eating contest, or on a new-fangled Mekaniak's jalopy.

Savantz: These Madboyz are a kind of idiot savant. They are introverted, twitchy, erratic individuals with prodigious powers of memory, recall and calculation. Here, the mania takes the form of enhanced mental abilities, or in other words they are eccentric know-it-alls. Just about the only Orks who can make sense of their babblings are the Mekboyz. Savantz are much sought after by Meks as personal companions, since they can function almost like a personal computer. Although Meks do make for themselves primitive computers and calculating apparatus, they find the algebraic gobbledigook spoken by the Savantz to be generally more accurate and useful. The Savantz are of course delighted to find an Ork prepared to stand still and listen to them and will latch on to any Mek who shows an interest. Consequently Meks are accompanied by Savantz, especially on any complicated or grandiose project which taxes even the skills of the Mekboyz to the limit. The main problem with Savantz is that they tend to wander off if left unattended, and will go and join the rest of the Madboyz, leaving the Meks helpless in the middle of a difficult project.

Lesser Manias: Of course there are other, lesser manias which are not so common and combinations of two or more manias can occur in the same Ork. These rare forms are not given special names by the Orks, but are included with all the other manias under the general name Madboyz.

Bands of Madboyz

Most Ork clans can claim to have Madboyz among them, but the incidence varies widely from relatively few to a large quantity. Madboyz, apart from their obvious state of mind and facial expressions, are otherwise similar to the rank and file warrior Ork Boyz. They will wear clan colours and iconography as normal. Their distinctive character is obvious from their behaviour, facial expressions and gestures. The rest of the Orks regard Madboyz as different and special, but nonetheless a natural part of Ork society. They are not shunned or shown any disrespect. Indeed, if any mischievous Orks or Gretchins should annoy a Madboy, they would soon find themselves surrounded and chastised by a few of his even more deranged mates.

Madboyz naturally band together, either into bands of those with the same mania or more generally into bands with Madboyz of every variety. This is the way that they prefer to fight in battle, in units of their own, so the Orks do not argue with them and let them get on with fighting the enemy in their own way. When they are not fighting, the Madboyz tend to gather together around their own campfires and hovels, gibbering and gesticulating happily and content to keep their own company. Sometimes a gathering of Madboyz will attract other Orks who are entertained by their antics.

Second of marines protecting commander of my US Marines forces is ready for action. Third member of the team is not directly interacting with commander or his teammate, he just stays vigilent, with a bayonet fixed and ready to impale any enemy daring to assault his position.

I noticed one thing about such sabot bases, as the one with my command team. Unfortunately, all it takes to wear off the paint on the edge of the base is to take out miniatures few times out of the base. I have to make it more durable...

I spent last few days fightning with Nurgle, and the battle still rages on. Still, blog was updated so many days ago, that I wanted to post something. So, here it is, first of the two soldiers, part of the command team. This one is extending his hand for a commander's map case... I agree, not very 'combat-like' pose...

No military unit is complete without its commander. Someone must take responsibility for getting job done and for soldiers. So, I finally decided to paint commander for my growing US Marines force. In my army list, command team consists of veteran second lieutenant and two further veteran soldiers. Miniature visible next to this note is obviously commander itself, his comrades in arms will be shown in further entries.

You may recognise face of this particular miniatures. Yep, that's the one I used in my 'Painting 28mm scale face' tutorial. I deliberately used the weakest head from the whole boxed set. Weakest as per 'usability', not 'worst sculpt'. The thing is, side cap. or overseas cap, as it was known in the Corps, visible here was worn where wearing service uniforms. Not really suitable for combat overalls depicted on miniatures. To bo honest, I can't even remember a single real-life photo, showing side caps being worn in combat. Despite this I decided to use this particular head - but my commander still wears his combat helmet (suspended on the belt). You can call it Yankee insouciance;)

Pose itself seems a bit strange too - especially map case in the hand of the commander. Here the answer is simple - all three miniatures from the command team will share common, bigger base, and poses of miniatures work together (or, at least, it was my goal).

Mormeg shares with us painted part of his painted old plastic dreadnoughts Contemptor class. Models were released as a part of "Epic Stompers" boxed set, expansion for 2nd edition of "Space Marine" game. They look a little bit different then current 28mm scale version released by Forge World, but differences are minor in this scale. Personally, I like them as they are, and painting by Mormeg only improves them.

Heroes of this story of yet another regiment of renown are Golgfag's Mercenary Ogres. This regiment was released for the first time in the ancient times of 1st edition of Warhammer (1983) and is still known in the current lore of the game (32 years later), Moreover - Golgfag plays a small but vital role in the End Times too... Quite an accomplishment, isn't it?

The picture below the test shows two first versions of Golgfag's ogres - models from 1st and 2nd edition of the game. Games Workshop has also released two more sets of ogres from this unit. First of them was released in 1998 (for "Dogs of War" army book) and current version was released in 2011.

The wars between the Goblins and Dwarfs had just begun when Golgfag and his Ogre band emerged out of the northern darkness. Golgfag was the chief of the Rutdrogg clan, and he saw the impending war as a good opportunity to gather loot and fresh meat. The Rutdroggs shambled out of their mountain homes and straight into the employ of Bogdan Legbreak, the chief of the Goblins of the northern Misty Mountains.

After a limited period of service Golgfag had taken part in several early actions of the war. The Rutdroggs proved themselves to be excellent troops, if somewhat undisciplined. One night after an especially long and intense drinking bout Glogfag and Bogdan, who had never liked each other anyway, fell to arguing. Within moments the whole Regiment was up and blood was flowing freely. By morning Golgfag's Regiment had fought its way out of the Goblin compound and taken to the woods.

Golgfag soon found employ again, however, this time fighting for the Dwarfs against his former allies. In this capacity he and his champion Grat'hud led a Dwarf party into the Goblin's stronghold and slew Bogdan in a bitter fight. Golgfag later established himself as one of the most adventurous leaders of the war and collected a great deal of gold, loot and captives before returning to the frozen north.

EQUIPMENTArmament - Two-handed mace. Armour - Shield, Mail Coats

BATTLECRYThe Ogre language in bestial in the extreme, and not easily translated. A phonetic transcription would be something like, 'Gruugh aghhhhh aghhhh waaaaaa.' Experts claim to recognise some elements and offer the following broken translation. 'Remove yourselves from your current physical location, failure to comply with our request could result in severe physical discomfort of a kind which could seriously curtail your social life.' Recent scholarship has shed new light on this strange cry. It now appears to mean, 'I get so angry when I don't have a cooked breakfast.'

DEEDSThe most popular story about Golgfag concerns the time that he was captured by the Dwarfs. He was imprisoned in the famous Black Hole of Raven's Hold, along with several dozen assorted goblinoids. Crammed into a tiny space, with no air and hardly enough room to breath, the Dwarfs expected the occupants to die. However when they opened teh door the following morning the Dwarf jailers were aghast to see Golgfag chewing on the remains of the last Goblin. The cell was otherwise empty, although there was good deal of gore and blood on the floor. The Dwarf leader was so awed by this feat that he ordered Golgfag to be taken a long, long way away and released.

SHIELDEach Ogre carries a large round shield, this is strapped to his back in combat so as to enable him to swing the mighty war mace.

UNIFORMSRutdroggs have long tunics down to the knee, with heavy breeches and boots. Over their tunics they wear mail armour, and over their backs they have long furry cloaks. Their skin coloration is swarthy, with longish black or grey hair.

It is high time to finally show second part of the US Marines flamethrower team. Second marine was armed with Winchester M12 shotgun, excellent weapon for fightning over the small distance, usual for flamethrowers. Contrary to his team fellow, this miniature is made from plastic bits, taken from the boxed set released by Warlord Games. The difference in quality is astounding (plastics are much, much better). The difference is so drastic, in fact, that I don't even want to buy a metal version of this shotgun armed marine, available in a "metal" flamethrower set released by Bolt Action publisher - I much prefer my own version.

You can see first "jungle patches" made for my games in the background of "combat" photos. I will show them in one of the future blog entries.

Almost exactly five years ago I posted first entry on this blog - on 8th of March 2010. I was young and pretty back then (still in my thirties then, now I'm only pretty as I just turned forty four) and I wanted to return to my old hobby - wargaming - with a twist. This "twist" was supposed to be historical wargaming but - let me be honest - I failed here. My hobby - and hobby of my brother Mormeg, who is co-author of the blog - is centered around various fantasy and sci-fi universes more nowadays (mainly GW owned), and less around historical battles and campaigns. Still, i don't want to stop historical wargaming altogether though. I really enjoy painting US Marines force for Bolt Action and I plan to paint another force too.

Total views of my blog for those five years is 1 278 997 - according to google. I don't know, if this is high or low number. Average, I think, but I blame myself as the last months notes were few and far between. Most of my blogging time is dedicated to Polish Miniatures site. I hope that I will return to posting at least four notes per week soon.

And one more thing. We heartily thank all our readers, especially the ones visiting our blog on daily basis. Stay with us for another five or more years:)

Further purchase from popular auction site - land speeders from the ancient era of Rogue Trader, with conctruction of theirs being strongely influenced by a sofa design. In my army those will count as javelin attack speeders. Unfortunately, models are of rather poor quality, as the parts are badly fitted. Closer you get to them, more obvious it is. It wasn't visible on the auction site's photo, as the models were undercoated black, but believe me, some of the gaps are so huge as Great Canyon. Well, beggars can't be choosers. So, I just quit whining and started to paint them, with just a slight reluctancy. Final effect is visible on the photos. IMO, it would be ok, if not those huge gaps. Well, I just have to find some old speeders still on sprue.

First part of the flamethrower team for my American marines from WW2. Miniature carries M2-2 flamethrower, improved version of earlier weapon, which was introduced into service in the summer of 1944. Improved doesn't mean flawless - operators have had quite a few issues with this weapon, not the smallest one was the question of weight and high siluette, which made hiding really hard. Despite its drawbacks, flamethrowers were widely used during fights on Pacific islands, where they were unmatched during cleansing all foxholes, caves and other Japanese defence points. Second marine from the flamethrower team was armed with a shotgun - I will show him next.

Miniature itself is an old cast by Warlord Games. Very poor sculpt, very bad details of weapons (tanks and valves especially), crude by modern standards and casted from some very brittle alloy. It was pita to paint, maybe with an exception of trousers. Helmet was a true nightmare. I'am definitely not a fan of metal Warlord Games miniatures...